Election
dates: Mugabe vows to go it alone

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe vowed Friday to unilaterally announce
dates for new elections, apparently ditching a Cabinet committee he
established with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai which was charged with
fashioning a “road-map” to the polls.

Tsvangirai last month announced
that he had agreed with Mugabe that a committee comprising Justice Minister
Patrick Chinamasa (Zanu PF) and his Constitutional Affairs counterpart Eric
Matinenga (MDC-T) would work out a programme leading to the new
polls.

The move infuriated MDC leader Welshman Ncube who accused his
rivals of violating the GPA agreement and warned Tsvangirai that he was
being led down the garden path by Mugabe.

On Friday the Zanu PF
leader told a meeting with traditional leaders and local government
officials in Mutare that Chinamasa now had sole charge of the process of
drawing up the so-called road-map.

“I was hoping to meet Chinamasa here
in Mutare, but he did not come. He is now the person in charge. It’s no
longer the Ministry of Constitutional (and Parliamentary) Affairs,” he
said.

The coalition parties remain divided on the timing of the polls.
Mugabe wants the vote to immediately follow the end of the current
Parliament on June 29 while the MDC parties are insisting on a delay to
allow implementation of further reforms.

Speaking to reporters in
South Africa where he was attending the World Economic Forum on Africa
Tsvangirai said a June election was not possible and insisted that media and
security reforms must be implemented first.

“Violence has always
characterized our elections,” the MDC-T leader said in an interview today
with Bloomberg TV. “If we can contain that, it will be ready any time after
June.”

But Mugabe said the election dates would become clearer next week
after the Senate completes its deliberations on the new
Constitution.

“We will see from next week what the date can be,” he said.
“We now await the decision of the Senate. Only when it is passed shall we be
able to have a roadmap for elections.”

He also ruled an extending
Parliament and reiterated calls for peaceful campaigns ahead of the
elections.

“Parliament dies on 29 June,” he said. “MPs, all of them,
would have lost their legislative power.”“As in any contest, there are
some whose tempers may flare and others with raging emotions, to all of
them, the country’s appeal is for peace, peace, peace! Violence should not
have any place nor footprint in our elections.”

ZEC
waives voter registration requirements

THE Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission has waived voter registration requirements for those
without documentary proof of residence as the programme intensifies ahead of
its end on May 19. Thirty-seven thousand people had registered to vote as of
yesterday, up from 25 000 last week.

ZEC chairperson Justice Rita Makarau
told political parties yesterday that those without documents to prove their
residence would fill in an affidavit form available at registration centres
as part of measures agreed upon to address concerns raised by the parties
and stakeholders.

“ZEC agreed with you in this regard and as a
consequence added the use of an affidavit as an additional document to prove
residence.“The affidavit is the fall-back position for all applicants and,
therefore, no one citizen should be turned away for want of documentation.
The affidavit will be gazetted soon, it will form part of the law of
Zimbabwe.”

Justice Makarau said the affidavit form was agreed upon by ZEC
and the Registrar-General of Voters Mr Tobaiwa Mudede, who attended
yesterday’s meeting.

In the meeting, political parties castigated
Finance Minister Tendai Biti for not adequately funding the electoral
commission. This was after Justice Makarau said although the process had
been largely underfunded, it had been worthwhile.

MDC-T organising
secretary Mr Nelson Chamisa complained about “skewed” distribution of voter
registration centres.He said some provinces had more centres than others and
suggested the use of traditional polling stations as voter registration
centres.Zanu-PF secretary for security Cde Sydney Sekeramayi said it was
interesting to note that the MDC-T now wanted polling stations to be used as
voter registration centres, a suggestion it had initially
spurned.

“It had been said let
voter registration be done at polling stations and they had said no, people
would be intimidated, but they now want the same thing they had rejected,
they are now wiser,” he said.

Political parties complained that the voter
registration period, April 29 to May 19, was too short.Others complained
that staff in the RG’s Office frustrated aspiring voters by demanding
certain issues that ZEC had not mentioned.Justice Makarau said ZEC would
meet to review the effect of the process and establish if there was need to
extend it.

ZEC, she said, envisaged another 30-day registration period
provided for by Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 20 which should
commence when the proposed Constitution takes effect. The 30-day period, she
said, should cover up for time lost during the initial stage of the current
voter registration.

“We do not have information that Section 6 (3) of
the draft Constitution has been repealed, so we still have additional 30-day
voter registration period provided for by the Draft Constitution,” she
said

Turning to people who have turned up to register as voters, Justice
Makarau said the figure rose to 36 785 from 24 940 within the last week,
those that have transferred rose to 13 345 from 8 839, while those who have
taken national identity documents rose to 55 654 from 42 882.

Poll
challenge set for Wednesday

Daniel
Nemukuyu Senior ReporterThe urgent chamber application in which Mr Jealousy
Mawarire is seeking permission to have his court application to compel
President Mugabe to proclaim election dates by June 29 heard on an urgent
basis has been set

down for hearing on Wednesday.This was in
compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive that if Mr Mawarire wanted his
court application to be heard on an urgent basis, he should first seek leave
to have it treated as an urgent matter.

If that application succeeds,
then the main application for the proclamation of poll dates would be
entertained urgently.Mr Mawarire has to justify why his case should be
treated with urgency.

In
the main court application Mr Mawarire wants President Mugabe to proclaim
the dates by June 29 in line with the fast-approaching expiry of terms of
office of local authorities, Parliament and the President.

He argues
that if elections delay, Zimbabwe would be running under an illegality
without councillors, Parliament and the President.Mr Mawarire says that he
is a registered voter in Zaka East Constituency and that as a citizen of
Zimbabwe, he had a legal standing to mount such an application.

Mr
Mawarire, a member of the Centre for Election Democracy in Southern Africa,
argues that the looming expiry of Parliament had triggered confusion and
debate among representatives of political parties and the inclusive
Government.If the election date is not fixed in line with the looming
expiry of the terms, Zimbabwe would be plunged into a situation where it
would be run illegally.

SADC
Troika holds Zimbabwe meeting

THE SADC organ on defence and security (Troika) met in
South Africa Friday to discuss Zimbabwe and other regional hotspots, South
Africa President Jacob Zuma’s office has confirmed.

The meeting was
held on the side-lines of the World Economic Forum on Africa underway in
Cape Town.In a statement, Zuma’s office said: “President Jacob Zuma will (on
Friday) host the SADC Troika on the side-lines of the World Economic Forum
on Africa in Cape Town.

“The meeting will discuss matters of regional
interest including Madagascar, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of
Congo.”

The Troika is chaired by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete and
also includes the leaders of Mozambique and Namibia.The meeting follows
a recent regional diplomatic offensive by Prime Minister and MDC-T leader
Morgan Tsvangirai which was aimed at convincing SADC to call a meeting to
discuss preparations for new elections in the country.

SADC facilitated
the formation of the coalition government after inconclusive elections in
2008 and has been helping the GPA parties negotiate a so-called roadmap to
new elections.

Although both Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe agree
that their unity arrangement is no longer workable they remain miles apart
over the actual timing of new elections.

Mugabe is pressing for the
elections to be held soon after the end of the current Parliament on June 29
but the MDC-T leader says conditions are not yet in place for a credible
vote.

The MDC-T accuses Zanu PF of stalling the implementation of media
and a raft of other reforms agreed as part of the GPA deal.Tsvangirai
has insisted that the reform process must be completed before new elections
can be held.

Securocrats
Tighten Grip on President Mugabe's Zanu-PF Party

WASHINGTON — Serving and retired officers from
Zimbabwe's military, police and intelligence are tightening their
stranglehold on Zanu-PF as information emerges that President Robert
Mugabe’s party will waive its rules governing primary elections to
accommodate them.

Former senior security officers are already running the
party’s influential political commissariat department, key in formulating
strategies for elections.

Party spokesman Rugare Gumbo confirmed to
VOA that top leaders in the party, known as the presidium, are currently
considering a proposal to waive requirements to accommodate the former
officers who want to represent Zanu-PF in crucial polls expected to be
called this year.

Multiple Zanu-PF sources told VOA that an unprecedented
number of serving senior army and retired officers, police, air force and
the Central Intelligence Organisation operatives, want to run for
parliamentary seats this year. It is not clear if the serving officers will
resign from active service.

This has caused
friction with some members especially sitting Members of
Parliament.

The South African-based Institute for Security Studies
says the the fact that many security personnel want to contest as lawmakers
indicates that “the security sector may be considering elected office as a
way to protect its privileges and assets rather than military force, which
would be opposed regionally and internationally.”

Political analyst
Earnest Mudzengi, director of the Media Centre, told VOA that relaxing rules
will not end factionalism in Zanu-PF.

The unity government agreement
– which was brokered by the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
after the 2008 elections erupted in violence – included proposals for
security sector reform, but little headway has been
made.

According to the Global Political Agreement, the bedrock of
the agreement, “state organs and institutions do not belong to any political
party and should be impartial in the discharge of their duties… there
[shall] be inclusion in the training curriculum of members of the uniformed
forces of the subjects on human rights, international humanitarian law and
statute law so that there is greater understanding and full appreciation of
their roles and duties in a multi-party democratic system.”

Churches
in massive campaign for Zanu-PF

Lloyd Gumbo
Herald ReporterThe Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe (ACCZ), one of
the largest groupings of churches in Zimbabwe, yesterday launched a massive
voter orientation exercise countrywide to educate Bishops from the Apostolic
and Zion churches of the need to ensure their followers register to vote for
Zanu-PF during the forthcoming harmonised elections.

The ACCZ has 638
members with a following over 9,5 million registered people of whom about 5
million are eligible voters.

About 400 Bishops and their spouses from all
the Apostolic and Zion churches in Zimbabwe attended a conference meant to
educate them on the need to register as voters to ensure an emphatic Zanu-PF
victory at the forthcoming polls.

The conference that was held at the
Zanu-PF headquarters and officially opened by Zanu-PF national chairperson
Cde Simon Khaya Moyo, was held under the theme; “re-aligning the indigenous
churches’ authority over national affairs in Zimbabwe.”The Bishops were
drawn from in and around Harare with other provinces represented by at least
two bishops.

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, ACCZ president,
Archbishop Reverend, Johannes Ndanga, said the church had a role to play in
shaping national affairs of all countries the world over.

“We are
launching the conference for peace and voter orientation ahead of the
harmonised elections. We are conscientising each other on the need for
peaceful elections and the need to register. We are encouraging our bishops
to register as voters first before they urge their followers to do the
same.

“This is a watershed election that we should have a big say as the
church because we have to remember where we came from. We have about 400
bishops and their spouses here to ensure that people like (MDC-T leader, Mr
Morgan) Tsvangirai who want to steal where they did not sow do not get
anything at all. We want elections as soon as possible. We don’t want the
continued abuse of our leader President Mugabe who is a founding
revolutionary who taught people about this independence that Tsvangirai is
enjoying,” said Rev Ndanga.

Archbishop Ndanga said it was a myth that
churches should be apolitical when it is the church that is supposed to
bless national leadership.Some MDC-T traditional allies among them the CNN,
BBC, the New York Times, the Guardian newspaper and some research groups
among them the Afro-Barometer, Mass Public Opinion, Zim Vigil, Freedom House
and individuals such as National Constitutional Assembly chairman Professor
Lovemore Madhuku among others have already predicted Zanu-PF
victory.

Delivering his keynote address, Cde Khaya Moyo said Zanu-PF was
grateful to the church for the role they played since the liberation
struggle adding that without prayer, the revolutionary war may not have been
won.

“As Zanu-PF we are the only party with clear policies that are
people-centered. This country is not for sellouts but revolutionaries. Let’s
not play with our independence and sovereignty. We are not a banana
republic.

“We have clear and principled leadership in President
Mugabe. He is a principled and committed revolutionary. Bishops we know you
are many in terms of your followers. Elections are coming soon. It is going
to be a game of numbers. We want all the people who are committed to their
country to register as voters so that Zanu-PF wins overwhelmingly. We
already have one candidate whom we should all vote for who is President
Mugabe,” said Cde Khaya Moyo.

For local and Parliamentary elections,
he said, candidates would be determined at the primary elections reiterating
that the revolutionary party would not condone candidate
imposition.

“When you vote, you should know where you came from. Let’s
make sure we remove these thieves from local authorities. We want clean and
committed council. You should vote for Zanu-PF.

“The forthcoming
elections are synonymous with the 1980 elections because the enemy is still
fighting us. The Americans and the European Union are fighting to remove
President Mugabe. We cannot defeat the enemy if we do not vote in our
numbers. No one should just pop up and say they want to be President of this
country if they don’t know where we have come from,” said Cde Khaya
Moyo.

He said, the 1987 unity accord between Zanu-PF and PF-Zapu was very
much alive saying no one could claim to have ended the union when they were
not the ones who signed the pact.

“The unity accord of December 22,
1987 between the two parties-PF-Zapu and Zanu-PF is irreversible . . . The
accord has two signatures, that of President Mugabe and the late Vice
President Joshua Nkomo. It is something we must be proud of. Whoever says he
is out of the accord please leave them alone because they don’t have
signatures there. Please pray for such people because they know not what
they are doing,” said Cde Khaya Moyo.

Latest on
Bikita diamonds

Masvingo
BureauGovernment says it has formally received an application for a licence
to start mining of diamonds in Bikita from Nan Jiang Africa Resources. But
Government yesterday stressed that the firm would only get licenced if
it

cedes majority shareholding to Zimbabweans in line with the country’s
indigenisation and empowerment laws.Nan Jiang Africa Resources, believed
to be a consortium of Chinese and Zimababwean businessmen, recently applied
for a licence to start diamond mining in Bikita.

This follows the
discovery of four kimberlite pipes in the Devuli Ranch in Budzi communal
lands.The area where the diamonds were discovered lies on the border with
Manicaland which is home to the Chiadzwa diamond fields.

Speaking on
the sidelines of a national mineral policy stakeholders’ meeting in
Masvingo, Deputy Mines and Mining Development Minister Gift Chimanikire
confirmed that Nan Jiang Africa Resources had formally applied for a diamond
mining licence. Government, he said, was currently considering the
application.

Deputy Minister Chimanikire, however, said they had
already informed the company of the need to fully comply with the country’s
indigenisation and empowerment laws for them to get a licence to operate.

Bank
ownership schemes null and void: RBZ

RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has
warned that indigenisation compliance deals reached with foreign financial
institutions without the approval of the central bank were effectively “null
and void”.

Foreign banks – mainly local units of UK-based Barclays and
Standard Chartered as well as South Africa’s Standard Nedbank – have been
under pressure to comply with the country’s indigenisation laws.

The
legislation requires foreign firms to transfer to locals 51 percent of their
Zimbabwe operations and Barclays was reported to have submitted its
compliance proposals while Stanchart was said to have initiated negotiations
after being threatened with closure.

But Gono warned in an opinion
piece published Friday that transactions not approved by the RBZ would
remain “deals on paper”.“Any 'deals' that foreign banks in this market
voluntarily or involuntarily enter into and sign-off without our prior
approval will remain 'deals on paper' — basically null and void,” he
wrote.

“The current seemingly unilateral approach to implementing the
indigenisation can only lead to fictional results akin to the mining deals
involving Zimplats, Unki and Mimosa which will have to be renegotiated and
submitted to us for approval for them to become ‘real’.

“In the
banking sector, and as the law stands, it is only the central bank that has
been conferred with legal powers to issue or withdraw banking licenses and
that is the practice the world over.”

Gono is fighting a
one-size-fits-all approach to indigenisation of the country’s banking sector
which has led to public spats with empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere
who is driving the programme which is also Zanu PF’s key campaign platform
for elections due this year.

The RBZ chief has rejected allegations he
was opposed to the programme and insisted that: “I am on record, as far back
as 2007, as having been one of the first public officials to hail the
government for passing the then long-overdue Indigenisation and Economic
Empowerment Act.”

He said foreign banks operating in the country were
“systemically important” and needed “to be safeguarded at all times” adding
indigenisation of the sector should be conducted in ways that enable foreign
shareholders to feel “comfortable that they can still leave their names,
brands and systems attached to the same indigenised
institutions”.

The RBZ chief said in terms of paid-up capital,
deposits and "the total market book", Zimbabwe’s banking sector was
dominated by locally-owned institutions.

“It is clear that the “rush”
to indigenise the banking sector is more driven by emotions and an
uninformed perspective than by necessity,” he added.

“We need to ‘hurry
slowly’. We can achieve the desired benefits through other creative means
such as lending quotas, mobilisation of support lines of credit and
supply-side empowerment.

“It is important that the process does not
disconnect the local institutions from their original parentage as doing so
would be to throw away serious associational benefits to the country that
come with those connections.”

Great Zim
under threat

Masvingo
BureauThe perimeter fence around the Great Zimbabwe monuments has been
vandalised, a situation that has raised fears that World Heritage Site might
be compromised owing to poor security. Large parts of the perimeter
fence

were destroyed around the monuments resulting in livestock such as
cattle freely roaming into the historic site while fire outbreaks had also
considerably increased.

National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe
southern region manager Mr Lovemore Mandima lamented the destruction of the
fence around the monuments saying the site was now difficult to secure as a
result.

Mr Mandima said the perimeter fence was being repeatedly
vandalised despite efforts to have it repaired in the past.“As I speak,
large parts around the monuments have no fence because the wire around was
vandalised.

It has become difficult to secure this place. Livestock
freely roams into the monuments thereby compromising the security of this
place,’’ he said.Mr Mandima said poor security around the monuments would
result in the public accessing sensitive areas and likely to destroy some of
the relics found there.There have also been isolated cases of mugging of
visitors by thieves inside the monuments owing to poor security.

Masiyiwa:
Robust Africa Growth Not Benefiting Poor People

WASHINGTON DC — Telecommunications mogul, Strive
Masiyiwa, says economies of most African nations are performing well but the
generated wealth is not spreading to people who are struggling to make ends
meet.

The Zimbabwean born millionaire, who is attending this year’s World
Economic Forum in South Africa which ends Friday said though six of the
fastest growing economies are in Africa, the continent is failing to
effectively use its resources for the benefit of the
people.

Masiyiwa, who is a member of the Africa Progress Panel chaired by
former United Nations secretary general Koffi Annan, believes that a lot
still needs to be done to ensure that natural resources are channelled
towards improing the standard of living of the poor and create jobs for
millions of Africans.

Reacting to several critics who say growth
projections in the sub-Saharan African region of up to 5 percent during the
past few years are being ‘manufactured’ by some economists, Masiyiwa said
such assumptions as far-fetched.

Critics say new research indicates
that some economic reports about a rising Africa are based on flawed
statistics.

The Africa progress panel monitors economic growth and the
use of resources in African nations.

Masiyiwa further said the
communications industry in Africa has been one of the most phenomenal
successes in the history of the continent.

The telecommunications mogul
says 20 years ago less than one percent of the African people had access to
a telephone line.

Masiyiwa said on average today, 70 percent of the
African people have a mobile phone.

He said mobile phones are playing
a critical role in promoting economic growth and good governance in
Africa.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says in its
sub-Saharan Regional Economic Outlook Report released Friday that
projections point to a moderate, broad-based accelaration in growth in the
region to around 5.5 percent from 2013 to 2014.

The IMF says this
reflects a gradually strengthening global economy and robust domestic
demand. It says investment in export-oriented sectors remains an important
driver and an agriculture rebound in drought-affected areas will also help
growth.

"Uncertainties in the global economy are the main risk to the
region’s outlook, but plausible adverse shocks would likely not have a large
effect on the region’s overall performance," says the IMF.

Africa
must stop looting of its resources: Annan

Revenues from mining in Africa are not reducing the gap between
the rich and the poor on the continent, the Africa Progress Panel said on
Friday.

The panel, which consists of eminent persons chaired by
former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, released its Africa
Progress report for 2013.

Speaking in Cape Town at the World Economic
Forum on Africa, Annan said while the past decade had brought growth to
several African countries, some crucial interventions were needed to ensure
revenues were not hidden in tax havens, but invested in critical areas such
as health and education.

The interventions should include African
countries putting in place bold policies for transparency and
accountability.

"The Africa Progress Panel finds it unconscionable that
some companies, often supported by dishonest officials, are using unethical
tax avoidance, transfer pricing, and anonymous company ownership to maximise
their profits, while millions of Africans go without adequate nutrition,
health, and education," Annan said.

African countries needed
strategies that would dictate to investors the terms under which natural
resources should be developed.

No
one is indispensable

The news that Manchester
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is to retire at the age of 71 has dominated
the media this week. I’m no great lover of football but one of my fondest
memories of Zimbabwe is of being right out in the bush somewhere beyond
Mutoko and seeing youngsters wearing Manchester United T shirts. At first I
thought maybe they had been given the T shirts and they didn’t reflect real
support but I quickly discovered the kids’ support for a foreign football
club was genuine. Whether that story proves that Alex Ferguson was the
greatest and most influential manager of all time I don’t know but certain
Zimbabweans leaders could do well to follow his example and accept that it’s
time to go! It’s hard to believe that no one is indispensable after a long
time at the top. Ferguson, who has been manager of Man U. for twenty-seven
years, had named his successor – unlike Zimbabwe’s man at the top! Mugabe
has been in power for thirty-three years and, even before he’s gone, his
party is tearing itself apart over who should succeed him. Mugabe could stop
the rot at one stroke by naming his successor but he remains silent. This
week he went so far as to reprimand his officials in the party for the
infighting and his deputy Didymus Mutasa has openly declared his support for
Joyce Mujuru for the next president; she is after all is second in line
after Mugabe.

How much this leadership struggle means to ordinary
Zimbabweans is unclear; only an election will indicate their general
thinking but there is no agreement yet on when the poll will be held. This
present Government of National Unity expires on June 29th and thereafter
there will be no government, a dangerous hiatus looms. Perhaps that was the
reason Robert Mugabe warned that ‘the west uses conflicts to spy on Africa’.
He was addressing the Tenth Conference of the Committee of Intelligence and
Security Service in Africa or CISSA for short. A public conference of spies
and secret agents is surely a contradiction in terms but there they were in
plain sight. Mugabe told the gathering of spooks that: “Our erstwhile
colonisers continue to manipulate international institutions and conventions
to justify unilateral military interventions in African states with the
objective of extracting and unfairly exploiting our resources.” And
speaking of our resources, Mugabe went on to invite the spies and special
agents to go and enjoy Zimbabwe’s tourist spots which they did, with 5 star
treatment all the way, incognito and wearing dark glasses, no
doubt!

Some commentators have speculated that Mugabe’s address to the
spies was an attempt to influence African leaders to comment favourably on
Zimbabwe’s forthcoming elections. More likely, it’s the row over security
reform that is dominating his thinking. MDC insists that security reforms
were part of the GPA but Zanu PF - and the military - say such reforms are
no longer necessary. Moreover, Minister of State Security Sekeramyi alleges
that the calls for security reform are ‘being pushed by external forces’.
It’s those pesky foreigners again!

All this talk of spies seems
totally unreal when one considers the realities of life in Zimbabwe: chaos
in the Mobile Voter Registration process; arrest of journalists; one million
people in need of food aid and a shortage of ARVs for AIDS patients, the
list goes on and on. Instead of talking about any of these very real
problems facing the country, Mugabe is warning of spies and western
infiltration but ‘Not to worry’ as the old Rhodies used to say, Zim will
soon have giant TV screens in our cities, courtesy of the Chinese, to
counteract the western media’s propaganda!

New Zimbabwe - balancing change with continuity and stability

A colossal conundrum and paradox of
Change Management is balancing change with continuity and stability. Swift
passage of the constitutional Bill in the Lower House on 9 May is the clearest
sign in recent times that change is now imminent. Preparing for this eventuality
is a necessity, not an option.

Interestingly, leading celebration of the
historic moment were mainly ZANU PF MPs. Most of these had threatened to derail
the COPAC process in the lead up to the second all-stakeholders conference.
Isn’t it amazing how quickly people change their minds in our beautiful land
mass called Zimbabwe?

Now that a new constitution is fait
accompli, the nation, particularly our political leadership, should start
seriously contemplating modalities for a soft-landing as it is only through a
miracle or daylight robbery that the MDC may fail to form the next
government.

The purpose of this discourse is simply
to present, explore and interrogate some of the options for creating a healthy
and effective balance between change, continuity and stability, deriving from
our past experience. If these options are already under consideration, there is
nothing to lose by revisiting them.

It might be useful to briefly reflect on
our transition to independence in 1980. For years after April 1980, we had
several “remnants” of those who had served the Rhodesian government both in the
civil service as well as the uniformed forces. Some of them are still serving
today. Only those who knew they had committed heinous crimes against humanity
for which they might be punished such as General Peter Walls, saw it fit to run
away. Professional soldiers, police officers, prison officers and civil
servants, continued to serve the government of the day without
prejudice.

Colonel Dyke was one of them. In the Air
Force of Zimbabwe, disciplined former Rhodesian officers such as the late
helicopter pilot Group Captain Harvey, rose to become one of President Mugabe’s
most trusted pilots. The police had several white Patrol Officers before this
rank was later abolished. Integration of Rhodesians and freedom
fighters surprised many as chaos and mayhem had been anticipated. Despite
sporadic cases of disturbances and disharmony, overall, the exercise was quite
smooth. Time for change had come.

With the ‘new Zimbabwe beckoning’, to
paraphrase an MDC senator, it is time to have a blue print for soft-landing. A
few thugs, clowns and political activists masquerading as generals, must not be
allowed to derail the people’s project and shutter our dreams. Most of these
shameless and unprofessional generals are overdue for retirement, anyway. As
cowardly General Peter Walls did, they will most likely dismiss themselves at
the dawn of a new era. We should allow them to leave unceremoniously and spend
their last miserable days on their unproductive farms. Paying too much attention
to them will elevate them to the undeserved status of saints. This is not to say
their criminal activities should be swept under the carpet. The law should take
its course.

In the olden days, police officers
generally served for up to 25 years while soldiers retired at 55. While I’m not
aware if this was a legal requirement or not, it certainly was common practice.
The new government should reactivate this practice or legal requirement
(whatever the case) in order to cleanse our security services of thugs who think
that they are bigger than Zimbabwe.

Those who quit the uniformed forces in
droves at the height of the political and economic madness between 2000 and 2008
should also be given the opportunity to return to service. Most of those
frustrated were the “non-aligned” officers; those that did not serve Ian Smith
nor liberate the country. This is now the missing link in our security services.
Those who chose to remain, were either silenced or kept at the same ranks while
militias disguised as officers enjoyed accelerated promotions.

On the other hand, some of our children
will be forgiven for thinking that Mariyawanda Nzuwah is some kind of a
monarch.The same applies to Tobaiwa Mudede and many others that
we all know. Together with the unprofessional generals, these “tired but not
retired” civil servants should be shown the exit door as soon as a new
government is formed. Zimbabwe does not have a crisis of qualified
citizens.

That said, there are some men and women
across the political divide that should be given a second chance irrespective of
their political affiliation or past errors. I doubt if Simba Makoni has reached
his sell-by date. The same applies to Arthur Mutambara. While he delivered
spectacular failure as a political appointee, the fact remains that he is
probably the only known Zimbabwean to have worked for NASA. Posting him to a
function responsible for technology will not be a waste. If Edna Madzongwe
headed the Science and Technology ministry for years with nothing to show for
it, Arthur can move mountains. While this might sound controversial, Gideon Gono
can be an assert as well if he is allowed to discharge his duties without taking
political directives. Like him or not, the man has energy and intelligence.
Mutumwa Mawere also comes to mind.

Walter Mzembi, Chindori-Chininga, Joice
Mujuru and other technocrats and moderates, should also be part of the equation
for soft-landing and transformation.We can’t afford to throw away
the baby with the bath water. Nevertheless, this is not the same as calling for
another GNU.

If in 1980, Zimbabweans came from
different walks of life to rebuild their country, in 2013, it should be a lot
easier. However, the likes of Jonathan Moyo, George Charamba,
Reuben Barwe, Chocha, Domic Chinenge and other legendary bigots across the
entire spectrum of media, politics, uniformed services and civil service, should
be relegated to the dustbin of history, where they rightly belong. The time to
plan for soft-landing is now.